Page 70 of Bloodhunter

“Vampires aren’t killing these women,” I told him. “It’s anincubus. We think he’s making the foam from…” I swallowed, suddenly hesitant.“From his…er…sperm, blood, and the sexual energy he steals from the women hekills.”

He frowned, absorbing my words, then shook his head. “Thebodies are drained. There are fang marks—the lab confirmed both those things.And incubi, not that I believe your story, don’t kill when they feed. They rapeand terrorize, but they don’t kill.”

“Usually they don’t,” I agreed, “but this one is sick. He’sstuck here. Maybe he was banished as punishment for something. The longer he’shere the sicker and weaker he becomes. He can’t exist here on sips of humans.He needs all of them. They will keep him alive until he can get what he needsto propel himself back to his world.”

“And that would be…”

I shrugged, offering him an uneasy grin. “Me, I’m afraid.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You.”

“He needs the energy of a bloodhunter to gain enough powerto return to his world. We’re pretty rare, as you know. He discovered me, andhe’s been trying to eat me ever since.”

“How long?”

“A little while now,” I mumbled.

He nodded slowly and pursed his lips, wondering how angry heshould be at me. “A little while now. You knew about this incubus from thebeginning.”

“Of course not,” I snapped. “We just—”

“Wemeaning you and the supernaturals.”

“Yes. And if word gets out that it’s not actually vampireskilling these women, the humans will go after the supernaturals. You know theywill. You have to protect them.”

“No,” he said. “I have to protect the women this incubus iskilling.”

My stomach hit the ground. “Captain. Frank.Please.”

“Captain,” one of his men called. “Have a minute?”

“When this gets out, and it will, I’ll make sure the publicknows the foam is coming from a demon,” the captain told me, turning to strideaway. “That’s all I can do.”

I stared down at the ground, trying to avoid the woman’sface as I searched for tracks. They weren’t difficult to find. I picked up afew of them, but two of them, both vague blue—one darker than the other—werethe most vivid. Both of them swirled not only around her body, but inside it.Blue fog drifted from her mouth, her ears, even her eyes.

Butwhy?

Before I could think too hard about it, I knelt beside thewoman, closed my eyes, and put my nose close to one of the colorful fog tracks.I pulled in the scent, latched on, then straightened, only realizing when Iheard horrified shouts of disgust and anger how I must have looked to the watchingcrowd.

“Corpse sniffer,” someone screamed.

“Oh hell,” I muttered, climbing to my feet. “That’s not howI want to be labeled.”

Captain Crawford hurried to me. “What the fuck are youdoing?”he muttered.

“Picking up a trail,” I told him. “Vampires were here. Iwant to find out why. I want to find out what they know.”

He ran his hand over his face, then blew out a hard breath.“If you bring him to me and he agrees with what you said, I’ll put the storyout to the public.”

Maybe I could save the supernaturals. With that one vampire,I could save them. I just had to find him.

I nodded. And then, ignoring the jeers from offended humans,I lifted my nose to the air and began to follow the scent one of the vampireshad left behind. Clayton joined me once I left the taped-off area, and I becamevaguely aware that he was keeping irate humans from my back.

I jogged down the street, ignoring everything but thatscent, and at last, we left the outraged humans behind.

Sometime later Clayton clicked on a flashlight when weentered darkness not penetrated by streetlights, and when I glanced at him, Isaw he held a silver chain in his free hand.

I sniffed the air and slowed my jog to a walk, determinedthat before the night was over, I would give the humans yet another reason tohate the vampires.